Barclays in SME loan bid October 20, 2013 BARCLAYS will offer small firms pre-approved loans, the bank said today, making it easier to access credit. More than 60 per cent of firms with a turnover of more than £10,000 will qualify automatically for the loans of up to £15,500 when the service is launched this month. Banks have been under pressure from regulators [...]
Confirmation of high Chinese growth lifts European markets October 18, 2013 The Chinese economy has posted a thumping 7.8 per cent annual growth for the third quarter of 2013. That's in-line with consensus forecasts, and an acceleration from the 7.5 per cent growth posted last quarter. Unless the fourth quarter sees a ghastly GDP number, China will hit the government's target of 7.5 per cent growth [...]
New Libor claims hit Barclays October 17, 2013 BARCLAYS’ Libor crisis came back to haunt the bank yesterday as senior managers were accused of knowing that traders tried to manipulate the key inter-bank lending rate. In a Court of Appeal hearing lawyers claimed board-level managers knew of the manipulation, but still let borrowers take out products based on Libor. Guardian Care Homes (GCH) [...]
Fraud squad prepares for first Libor trial October 17, 2013 FORMER UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes will appear in court on Monday to answer charges related to the Libor-rigging scandal. The Serious Fraud Office has asked more than 20 other people set to be named on the indictment against Hayes to apply for injunctions to protect their anonymity if they wish. Tom Hayes is [...]
Banks’ PPI crisis eases at last as complaints fall October 16, 2013 THE WORST of the payments protection insurance (PPI) crisis appears to be over for Britain’s banks as the City watchdog yesterday published numbers showing a fall in complaints. A total of 2.9m complaints were made in the first six months of 2013, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), down 500,000 on the previous six-month [...]
Banker bashing and job cuts are piling stress on financial workers October 16, 2013 FEARS of job cuts and “banker bashing” are taking a toll on the health of bank workers of all levels, according to an international study published yesterday that follows a trail of burnouts and tragedies in the world of finance. The study by Swiss-based UNI Global Union found more than 80 per cent of banking [...]
City Moves for 17 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 16, 2013 Colliers International The property company has announced the appointment of Michael Hawkins as a partner in its national offices team. He was most recently at WHR Property Consultants, where he was a partner advising property and development companies, funds, and investors. Prior to that, he spent ten years at Lambert Smith Hampton. Balderton The European venture [...]
Financial services complaints fall by 500,000 in six months as Barclays receives over 370,000 October 16, 2013 Consumer complaints to the financial conduct authority (FCA) have dropped by 500,000 between the second half of 2012 and the first half of 2013. Ian McConnell, financial services partner at PwC, says that the fall is "encouraging" and shows "that the issues faced by the financial services industry are being dealt with." McConnell says the [...]
Sants signed off from Barclays with stress October 15, 2013 FORMER top regulator Sir Hector Sants is on leave from Barclays suffering from exhaustion and stress. Sants was hired at the start of this year to run the bank’s compliance operations, after spending five years at the Financial Services Authority and re-moulding much of the regulatory system. Sir Hector is expected to take three months off, [...]
Hector Sants to take leave from Barclays until end of year October 15, 2013 Sir Hector Sants is to take a leave of absence from his role at Barclays as a result of a diagnosis of exhaustion and stress, according to Barclays spokesman. The former regulator is not expected to return to work until 2014. Sants started work at Barclays in January of this year, reporting directly to chief [...]